A few weeks before Christmas, FKA Twigs sued her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf for the emotional and physical abuse she suffered at his hands during their year-long relationship. Shia had well-known abuse issues when he was still a drug and alcohol addict, but by the time he got with Twigs, he was clean and sober. Shia didn’t say much publicly about Twigs’ lawsuit, but he did suddenly get photographed a lot after she sued him – he was photographed running in LA several times, and then we learned (through paparazzi photos) that he’s currently dating Margaret Qualley, Andie McDowell’s 26-year-old daughter. Margaret and Shia were seen running together two days before Christmas. So… this news comes as a surprise: Shia has checked into another treatment facility.
Shia LaBeouf is reportedly “actively” seeking treatment following allegations of abuse from his ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs. The Grammy nominee, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, filed a lawsuit against the actor earlier this month alleging sexual and physical abuse. In the suit, another of LaBeouf’s ex-girlfriends, stylist Karolyn Pho, accuses him of similar behavior.
LaBeouf’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, told Variety Thursday that the actor is seeking help.
“Shia needs help and he knows that. We are actively seeking the kind of meaningful, intensive, long-term inpatient treatment that he desperately needs,” Holley said in a statement to the outlet.
Barnett’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Variety that the lawsuit was filed after LaBeouf was allegedly “unwilling to agree to get appropriate help” when his clients tried to settle out of the public eye.
“This isn’t about Shia’s career,” Freedman said. “This is about making sure the trauma and pain inflicted on my clients and others doesn’t happen again. Shia is an admitted abuser and he needs to get meaningful help that addresses his violent behavior.”
In a previous statement to PEOPLE, Freedman said, “Shia LaBeouf has abused Ms. Barnett, Ms. Pho and others. We tried to resolve this matter privately on the condition that Mr. LaBeouf agree to receive meaningful and consistent psychological treatment. Since he was unwilling to agree to get appropriate help, Ms. Barnett filed this suit to prevent others from unknowingly suffering similar abuse by him.”
LaBeouf admitted past abusive behavior to the Times, but also said that “many” of the allegations against him were untrue. He added that he owed the women “the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.”
[From People]
Apparently, there was some back-and-forth between Shia’s lawyers and Twigs’ lawyers about whether both Shia and Twigs came to the negotiation table before she sued him, and Twigs’ stated goal has always been to get Shia to recognize his behavior and seek treatment and hopefully change that behavior. I have no idea whether intensive, rehab-like programs for domestic abusers really help or really change an abuser’s behavior. But I’d much rather Shia at least admit that he has a problem and, IDK, try this. I tend to believe once a violent sociopath, always a violent sociopath, but I’m not a f–king doctor.
Shia’s announcement about seeking treatment actually came on the heels of this Variety story, which is all about Shia’s career implosion. Apparently, Olivia Wilde outright fired him from Don’t Worry Darling (her second feature-length directorial effort) because of all of his assholery in JUST preproduction. The basic gist is that every woman who has ever worked with Shia in any capacity – excluding Megan Fox and Margaret Qualley – is now lining up to talk about how he’s a giant a–hole.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
That sounds like code for “avoiding the consequences of your actions.”
plus PR
But could be worse. He could’ve gone full Johnny Depp, using bots and stans to destroy his accusers.
Yeah, I’ll bet that this isn’t about doing the right thing or trying to learn a better path towards women….this is about his career and the monetary impact his behavior is now having on his ability to earn it. This is about trying to game his behavior with the public.
Buuut…. how can we demand an apology and changed behavior but then continue to judge when the person DOES attempt to get help? Not defending him, just an honest question. Has he been to a treatment facility before? For abuse.
I watched shia a lot while I was younger and loved him… this so disappointing and horrific. His behavior is so extreme i can’t help but wonder if he himself was a victim at a young age of some abuse that he had never dealt with and this is the manifestation of that trauma.
Could be. Hopefully this treatment will help his behaviors but I can’t help but worry about Qualley. This is a lot of very heavy baggage to take on.
I mean, possibly. But I have known many people who suffered abuse as children who are not abusers themselves.
I feel you about the childhood crushes who turned out to be aholes though. I had posters of Ricky Schroeder, Kirk Cameron and Scott Baio on my bedroom wall as a kid! It’s so disillusioning!
When he did the Indiana Jones movies, I read a profile about him. He’d been homeless with his parents. His parents weren’t together. I remember something about his dad being violent to his mother.
Hollywood has pulled a lot of people from poverty, and lots of precocious kids get lifted into productions because they are mature beyond their years on a set. Middle class kids go into the business, but so many are like Shia: deeply damaged from abuse and poverty, and there are so many in LA. All abused don’t abuse, but many do, and Hollywood needs kids with parents willing to let them stay on set as much as possible. There are child labor laws, but the kids with parents who need the kids to work get opportunities because healthy parents don’t make their kid’s available to other adults as needed. A kid who has acting ambition is different than a kid raised for sale.
I experienced many forms of child abuse and have lifelong trauma that I don’t believe will ever be fully fixed or healed, and I don’t abuse or hurt anyone. Most victims of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, do not turn into abusers. I’ll never ever ever take that as any kind of “explanation” from any abuser. In my view it’s nothing more than excuse, a sociopathic bid for sympathy and victim status.
I also experienced many forms of abuse as a child. I do not ever use it as an excuse to be abusive. However, before I had enough therapy and help, if I felt scared (meaning I felt I was being threatened) I would react with explosive anger. It was my shield and my safety. I didn’t see it as abuse of others I saw it as self preservation. I never hit anyone but I was definitely verbally abusive when I was in this state. I truly believe I am healed enough, and my core self finally feels safe enough, that I will never again use rage and screaming as a shield when I’m scared.
I do not excuse abuse. I’m a living example of the damage abuse does to the abused. But people can be so damaged that they think they are keeping themselves safe when they are really harming others. Maladaptive protection mechanisms come in many forms. So I think every abused child who grows into an unstable adult deserves help, and can hopefully be reformed to never be abusive again.
That’s not the same at all as committing sexual battery against others and shooting stray pets for kicks.
I feel you. I used to have a poster of Mel Gibson, the movie poster for “The Year of Living Dangerously”. He was peak male beauty then. I didn’t know he was rotten inside.
Oh Dizzy, we all got suckered by Mel at that stage of his life.
And Russell Crowe. At least I can say I was never fooled by Tom Cruise…
An abuser can definitely be a victim of abuse when they were a child….. and? It does not excuse it. I never got the appeal of Shia. What is interesting is that people/fans will bend over backwards to defend their icon.
To me “seeking treatment” means they are looking for a program as opposed to “getting treatment.” I think he was popped after Shawn Holley made that statement.
Exactly: I don’t think he’s checked in anywhere — by “seeking,” his people seem to mean “looking for” treatment, not actually doing it yet.
Shawn Holley was once Lilo’s lawyer. Remember when she stole a necklace and already had a rap sheet? That’s the lawyer. There must be $$$ in representing troubled entertainers or good PR.
Wasn’t that when she had her nails painted to say Fuck U to the judge?
Ok that tells me everything I need to know about this situation. If that’s his lawyer he’s just trying to manage his reputation.
She’s a criminal defense attorney and has a lot of high profile/wealthy clients
I’m sure he’s only doing this to get let off the hook from Twigs lawsuit. I personally do not think abusers can change. However, Margaret Qualley should look into some therapy to figure out why she is with this creep.
I also don’t believe that abusers can’t change, especially when sociopathic/narcissistic. And you are spot on that it is Margaret who might be the one actually benefiting from counseling
That was meant to be “I also believe that abusers can’t change,…”
I second that. Qualley is so young and has already dated two male fukups and a female “troublemaker”: Pete Davidson, Shia Labeouf, and Cara Delavigne. She needs some therapy, too.
If I were Andie McDowell I’d probably have her locked in a closet or deprogramming right about now.
Margaret Qualley:
badboys are not worth it trust me on this trust a lot of women on this. you do not need these jerks who need intensive therapy. Not Shia, not Pete Davidson, not anybody like them OK??!!
Unfortunately there is more evidence to suggest that access to treatment and therapy actually empowers abusers with tools and language. They become more subtle in their manipulation and effective with their psychological and emotional abuse…I believe that the only way to effectively address abuse is being very public about experiences and impact, which is both dangerous and EXTREMELY difficult to do. Few survivors are treated with empathy. It can be life or death for many women survivors.
I agree. Most abusers love treatment because not only is it all about them during counseling but they generally feel a power rush manipulating the counselors.
That makes a lot of sense. I would hope that there is some combo of treatments that could take place to make a person less violent and genuinely change. It may be similar to an alcoholic who should never drink again. They may need to stay away from full time romantic partnerships
This was my experience with my ex. Going to therapy together to “help” him with his behavior actually increased his power over me because he learned language and ploys to use to manipulate me into believing he was changing and that I needed to stay.
That’s true for abusers who are psychopaths; they learn how to become more proficient abusers & learn new tactics in abuse prevention programs. The average man won’t, but doing this group work with psychopaths is dangerous. If it’s a good program, they will be working to identify these men & get them into individual therapy, rather than a group setting.
Note to make: typical therapy and especially marital therapy is the exact opposite of what these men need. Marital therapy should never be utilized within an actively abusive relationship & marital therapists should be advising that the man starts with therapy geared towards his abuse first. Unfortunately, therapists in this country are not adequately taught or trained in domestic abuse. The schooling they get on the subject, and what to do when it is identified, is sorely lacking & needs to change.
You are correct Jane Doe. My sister is a sexual assault and domestic violence nurse and has told me that these programmes do nothing. He will always be an abuser. It never stops.
Exactly. Rehabilitation is not possible for sex offenders or domestic violence terrorists. They must be removed from society.
They learn to say all the right things. And unfortunately, they learn even better ways of gaslighting. When I was practicing psychiatry (still am, actually, for the next two months), I wouldn’t work with the abusers. I’m not about to give them more tools to abuse and gaslight. I work with the victims. And yes, some abused become abusers, but you are far more successful at dealing with them before they begin the abuse cycle themselves. It’s like a switch goes on when they start abusing others, and I have not found many (if any) capable of turning the switch off again.
This thread is so interesting! What do you all think about anger management courses (that are usually court mandated)? Do you think abusers learn new tactics from those courses, or is it really in a therapy environment that they learn how to become better gas lighters?
Jane Doe you are absolutely spot on with this.
I don’t believe this headline. At all. He may want people to believe it for his career, but I think that’s pretty much over. On top of everything else, the his shooting dogs stuff has likely sealed his industry demise.
Wait, what? Shooting dogs? WTF?
FKA stated that he said to her he had been out shooting street dogs in LA. The stated intention was to get into the mind set of being a killer. For a role. It lines up with his work and on The Tax Collector.
Oh my heart. My beloved dog is a former “street dog” from Venice, and she has the most loving heart. I weep thinking of the poor dogs he harmed that deserved to live full lives.
I did not think I could be more disgusted by this dude. I think that’s enough internet for today.
I think he could come back from this. I’m not commenting on if he *should* be able to come back from this, just if he could.
He’s young and white and male and pretty talented. The industry is still controlled by white men. If he walks the right line, he’ll have a new indie movie or mini series coming out in 2023ish.
Absolutely.
Look at all the misogynist hate criminals who still have a career in the entertainment industry: the sex offender Ben Affleck, the domestic violence terrorist Mel Gibson, the rapist Mike Tyson, the domestic violence terrorist Sean Penn, the sex offender supporter Liam Neeson.
I’m personally triggered by this case on so many levels. My dog was a shelter pet who was found as a stray in West LA – the same dogs LaBeouf was driving around shooting at apparently. My dog had trauma from being strangled at some point and had a BB from a BB gun lodged in his hip. He was the sweetest, gentlest, most loving soul I’ve ever met in my entire life. He was an extremely kind and caring animal and just so innocent and not cut out for this sick world. The idea of him being shot and bleeding to death alone on the street for nothing more than the sadistic, sociopathic gratification of human scum Shia LaBeouf and his moronic so-called “method acting,” makes me feel levels of anger I can’t even describe.
I share your feelings! My dog was rescued after being homeless in Venice and subjected to violence from the homeless man that claimed her. She has the biggest heart, and the thought of Shia killing dogs like her because he didn’t recognize their value breaks my heart.
If he is capable of doing violence like that, I don’t think he has limits.
That made me lose all respect I had left for him, sorry dude, cancelled. Even when cancelling is passe’ in “my book” animal abusers override a lot sympathy I would normally have for troubled souls.
Anyone who would shoot a stray dog without provocation is a trash human and doesn’t deserve a lot of mercy.
Indeed. I hope all the super intense animal rescue people get on his ass too.
It seems the part about shooting dogs is getting swept under the rug though? That is truly psychopathic.
Idk, if he is sincere about acknowledging he’s an abuser of women, he wouldn’t be in a relationship with one right now….
I second that sentiment. If he were serious, he’d take a step back from his current relationship while engaging in treatment.
On a side note, I find him to be physically unappealing irrespective of his abusiveness. That alone would would make him a big no for me before I even got close enough to learn about his abusive dickish personality.
Most of the domestic abuse intervention programs seem to work if there are other underlying issues like PTSD and the perpetrator is invested in getting better. I don’t see Shia invested in getting better.
I used to work at a place that offered therapy for abusers. It can work on a few conditions: the man has to want to change, has to be willing to look at, accept, actively work to change the way he views his partners (also women in general) & continually analyze his controlling behaviors which turn into abuse. The other piece is that the man needs to drop the victim mindset that abusive men have underneath their anger, reconnect with his other emotions and be willing to learn how to deal with the uncomfortably of feeling his emotions, without lashing out at others.
The stats on if these programs work are tough because most clients are court mandated (not there by choice & not willing) and it’s difficult to adequately quantify the success of such a program. If Shia really jived with a recovery program, that experience & knowledge will help him be willing to benefit from an abuse prevention program. Godspeed.
This is also what I have seen in studies. The programs have a high success rate ONLY when a perpetrator of domestic violence seeks help without being mandated by court or external pressure. It has to be a situation where the person recognizes that they have a serious problem and wants to fix it. I think it must be somewhat rare for perpetrators of domestic abuse to seek treatment voluntarily. Shia LeBouf definitely does not fit into this category.
As the mother of an adult daughter I can only imagine that Andie is losing her mind over her daughter dating this creep. It’s heart wrenching to watch your adult child make horrible decisions like this and knowing that there isn’t anything that you can do about it.
I was thinking the exact thing.
It’s such a helpless feeling seeing your child in danger and not being able to do anything about it .
That poor girl is probably still high on love and infatuation, and now there’s the “us against the world” narrative added.
Girls and women do not get schooled nearly enough in trusting their gut and leaving when those distant alarm bells start. I know abusers are really manipulative and I am not blaming the victims. I’m blaming how we get raised to be polite and not make waves. And to rescue people and to be schooled into thinking there’s some poor misunderstood bastard out there who just needs us to make him a better man.
It seems sort of like a cop out. Wealthy white male goes to luxury resort for being an abuser. I hope it helps but it seems like a celebrity PR tactic where he gets a vacation out of it. I loved him on Even Stevens as a kid and it’s sad to watch him end up where he is.
Megan Fox and Margaret Qualley have both dated and defended other a-hole men so maybe they do not see what is in front of them. Shia will not change in my opinion and I just wonder why he is still being hired in Hollywood?
I was looking at her running style because it made me think about what I’d look like if someone caught me mid-stride and then noticed in another picture that she has a bruise on her right shin. I’m absolutely am not saying he did it, because I’m a person who somehow manages to stub her toe every day and have regular low leg bruises. Just bad optics.
That poor girl, the current girlfriend- comforting him, even if he is abusive to her.
He will tell her he is awful and doesn’t deserve to live, and she, after being subjected to his abuse, will be comforting him telling him how amazing and wonderful he is.
Walking on eggshells because anything could set off a grown man tantrum.
Thinking she is the only one on earth who understands him, can help him.
it makes her feel powerful and needed, and she will dig in deeper, be more and more devoted.
And it will always be 100% about and for him and him alone.
No idea if it is happening.
but it is out of the abuser playbook.
You just described my relationship with my ex husband and I wish I would have known the red flags before, because they all seem to have a textbook pattern.
It’s also often the case that, rather than feeling powerful and needed, women in these situations feel a tremendous guilt and terror that she’ll be a bad, evil, uncaring, unloving selfish monster and will be the one at fault if she DOESN’T help him. Women in these situation feel particularly terrified when there’s a suicide threat. After all, he’s just sick, so it’s not really his fault, and he’s innocent and helpless, whereas she’s the healthy and strong one so if she just walks away, it’ll all be her fault to live with for the rest of her life if he offs himself. That’s an EXTREMELY common manipulation and it works very well on earnest young women who are conscientious, diligent self-sacrificers and people-pleasers to a fault. These women can be very easily convinced that they’re monsters for not setting themselves on fire to keep someone else warm.
I don’t believe it. I see him (and now his new lady friend) running in front of my home every day and he’s continued to call the paps, who block my driveway.
Glad he is getting help, hopefully he can stop hurting others and himself. I doubt his motivation is sincere though.
Why didn’t he do this BEFORE his sick and disgusting crimes of A DECADE
on victim after victim were leaked to the world? If it’s about “getting help” why didn’t he do it after the first woman he battered?
He’s only “sorry” that he got caught, that one of his victims was brave enough to come forward publicly AND is being believed and supported. I think he is a sadist and a sociopath and there is no fixing either of those.
If you had some “disease” that caused you to sexually batter an innocent person, with no control over what you had done, wouldn’t you get “treatment” for that disease as soon as you were humanly able to, especially if you were a millionaire with all the resources? Like check yourself into a facility the very next day??
Reading some of the things he may have done is sickening. There are so many talented people out there, many underrated actors, etc. We need to stop giving out second, third, forth, fifth chances to these abusive dicks. I hope Shia gets help and is healed, but I also hope he can do that privately and we don’t have to see or hear about him again.
Same. I hope he really gets help, thoroughly commits to it, and utilizes his resources to become a better human being who never intentionally harms another being on this planet ever again. I *equally * hope that his career as a public figure is over. No more “chances” at this particular gig for this particular person.
There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this guy. Nothing. What can she possibly see in him? Do we know what her relationship with her parents is like? I’m not blaming them, but could this be a rebellion / FU type of thing?
I’d guess it’s something like, “My only value is how much I can sacrifice for others and how understanding I can be.”
I don’t believe it. He’s just sitting in his mansion in Pasadena with assistants getting him whatever he needs.
Of course he did.